Water Leak under drive
Discussion
We moved house recently and queried a water leak, though after investigation and watching the meter for a couple of minutes and seeing no movement completed. Fast forward 3 months and we've had the first bill, which is showing usage approximately 3 times our "normal" amount.
ST have been out and taken a look and confirmed a slow leak between the house and the meter. They then came back and used leak detection gas but couldn't find the leak or any trace of the gas. They've advised that it's a small leak that doesn't need to be fixed, though obviously I want to as the leak is the best part of £70 a month down the "drain"
I know where the pipe runs, and where there's a T off into the garage. So I'm assuming that the issue is due to settlement between garage and the T join and over time it's just loosened the connection?!
My question really boils down to what's the next steps here? The drives 50M long and all block paved, so I really don't want to have to start digging it all up, nor do I fancy the cost of a mole to run a new pipe.
ST have been out and taken a look and confirmed a slow leak between the house and the meter. They then came back and used leak detection gas but couldn't find the leak or any trace of the gas. They've advised that it's a small leak that doesn't need to be fixed, though obviously I want to as the leak is the best part of £70 a month down the "drain"
I know where the pipe runs, and where there's a T off into the garage. So I'm assuming that the issue is due to settlement between garage and the T join and over time it's just loosened the connection?!
My question really boils down to what's the next steps here? The drives 50M long and all block paved, so I really don't want to have to start digging it all up, nor do I fancy the cost of a mole to run a new pipe.
FilH said:
I've seen him, may be one to try actually!£70 a month of "leak" is not insignifcant and I would expect there to be visual evidence of that amount of water on the surface somewhere within your boundary.
Also "there was no movement on the meter after 2 minutes of watching" vs. an additional £70 on your bill makes no sense. Which is it ? Are the meter readings actually read or estimated? Do the readings on your bill match you own personal logs from the meter? Is the meter going round at a decent pace with all your taps turned off? If the alleged leak is before the meter then how does the water co. know that you've used an extra £70 of water .
Be aware that if this is a wireless reading rather then a physical confirmation of the visible digits, the wireless bits of the meter are renowned for going faulty due to moisture build-up or the chamber where the meter is fills up with water and knackers them. This leads to all kinds of nonsense readings and I went through this myself on a previous rental when a bill for £2k landed on the doormat when it's usually about £15 a month. The meter guy who came out to investigate told me himself it's a very common problem with the wireless going faulty but is usually sorted with a manual reading,
My advice would be to physically confirm the meter reading with your own eyes before getting out your spade.
Also "there was no movement on the meter after 2 minutes of watching" vs. an additional £70 on your bill makes no sense. Which is it ? Are the meter readings actually read or estimated? Do the readings on your bill match you own personal logs from the meter? Is the meter going round at a decent pace with all your taps turned off? If the alleged leak is before the meter then how does the water co. know that you've used an extra £70 of water .
Be aware that if this is a wireless reading rather then a physical confirmation of the visible digits, the wireless bits of the meter are renowned for going faulty due to moisture build-up or the chamber where the meter is fills up with water and knackers them. This leads to all kinds of nonsense readings and I went through this myself on a previous rental when a bill for £2k landed on the doormat when it's usually about £15 a month. The meter guy who came out to investigate told me himself it's a very common problem with the wireless going faulty but is usually sorted with a manual reading,
My advice would be to physically confirm the meter reading with your own eyes before getting out your spade.
We had a mains water leak under our drive earlier this year—no obvious signs, and we’re not on a water meter, so we didn’t know about it. We only found out when we were having a new electric cable installed to the house for an EV charging point (that’s another story). The home insurance company sorted it (total cost was £2k). It took about eight weeks from start to finish, as we had the added complication of the stop tap for the supply from the highway being broken, which the local utility company had to fix. Then we had to wait for the ground to dry out before the driveway could be reinstated—which took about a month, despite the hot, dry summer.
Tisy said:
Also "there was no movement on the meter after 2 minutes of watching" vs. an additional £70 on your bill makes no sense. Which is it?
Watching the meter the movement is almost imperceptible, though leaving it for an hour with the house isolated off and it's moved a fair amount, approximately 15l water. I've looked around and can't see any evidence of it
hidetheelephants said:
That's a pretty big leak, I'd expect it to be making itself obvious with a wet patch, unusual plant growth etc.
Nothing visible at all. I had a chat with the bloke who built the house and he's said it's 700mm down and under block paving, so not surprised theres not much to seeDon’t rule out the connection at the meter.
Either the connection to the meter or a joiner if it’s gone from a bit of blue from the meter to a metal pipe/black alkaline pipe can cause problems.
Other places to look at is where the pipe enters the house. The pipe is normally not as far down there and if the ground was whacked to take block pavers this can be a trouble spot.
Either the connection to the meter or a joiner if it’s gone from a bit of blue from the meter to a metal pipe/black alkaline pipe can cause problems.
Other places to look at is where the pipe enters the house. The pipe is normally not as far down there and if the ground was whacked to take block pavers this can be a trouble spot.
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